Microsoft patent case against Motorola to be reviewed

Microsoft Corp.'s patent-infringement claims targeting Motorola Inc.'s Android smartphones will be investigated by the U.S. International Trade Commission.

The trade agency in Washington, which has the power to block U.S. imports of products that violate patents, made the announcement on its website today. Microsoft, which is overhauling its mobile-phone operating system, filed the complaint last month, as well as a civil suit in federal court in Seattle seeking unspecified cash compensation.

The dispute is part of the fight for a share of the burgeoning smartphone market, including cases filed by Oracle Corp. against Google Inc. and Apple Inc. against HTC Corp. and Nokia Oyj. Apple filed an ITC complaint against Motorola Oct. 29, and, like Microsoft, is seeking to block imports of phones made by Schaumburg, Illinois-based Motorola.

Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, claims Motorola is infringing nine patents, including ones for monitoring memory in flash memory device, a way to update contact databases, and a program interface for mobile phones. The complaint seeks to bar imports of the Motorola Droid 2, Droid X, i1, Cliq XT, Devour, Backflip, Charm and Cliq, along with associated software.

Google, which wasn't named in the lawsuit, said last month it would “stand behind” its Android system and the partners who helped with its development.

Microsoft's share in the global mobile-phone market fell to 5 percent in the second quarter, from 9.3 percent a year earlier, according to market-research firm Gartner Inc. Android climbed to 17 percent from 1.8 percent, while the iPhone rose to 14 percent from 13 percent.

The ITC case is In the Matter of Certain Mobile Devices, Associated Software and Components Thereof, 337-744, U.S. International Trade Commission (Washington). The federal case is Microsoft Corp. v. Motorola Inc., 10cv1577, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington (Seattle).